North America’s Tom Brosseau sings in a lean, boyish voice. Â About everyday things; nothing too intense, really… rivers, roads, that sort of thing. Â Backed by thin arrangements (primarily a steel-stringed acoustic guitar, with a splash of piano here or there), that’s Cavalier pretty well summed up – folk music in the classic sense. Â Music by common people for common people, in a style common people can relate to. Â Â Â If that doesn’t sound exciting to you, perhaps that’s because it isn’t: it’s reliable. Â I can’t find anything wrong with this record as such. Â It might make for a passable accompaniment to a quiet dinner, for example, or a reflective stroll along the beach (in soft focus) with your iPod. Â Brosseau’s somewhat identifiable voice will add value for the authenticity set, and the sparse instrumentation hints at the craft of an earnest troubadour. Â I guess the thing is… there’s nothing exciting going on here, so there’s not much to set Cavalier apart from the vast ocean of acoustic/folk music produced every year in bedrooms (and log cabins) around the world. Â In Brosseau’s case, previous outings have shown that there’s more to be gained by a considered approach to orchestration. Â (…Perhaps a few more interesting chord progressions wouldn’t go astray, either.) Â And so it happens that this isn’t a bad record, but it’s not necessarily good, and it if were a missile, you might fail to see it on radar – and even when it finally hit you on the head, it mightn’t exactly blow up. Â
Jon TjhiaÂ
